Defenders of current policy, leading advocates for reform, and academic researchers will discuss and examine key issues such as alternatives to prohibition, effects of the war on drugs on minority communities, and international efforts to reduce the harms of drug abuse.

The Global Cannabis March is an annual rally held at different locations across the planet. It refers to cannabis related events that occur on the first Saturday in May or thereabouts and may include marches, meetings, rallies, concerts, festivals and information tables.

The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the Transnational Institute (TNI), and George Washington University (GWU)’s Latin American & Hemispheric Studies Program are organising a conference on drug policy debates and reforms underway in Latin America on the morning of Thursday, May 6 from 9:00 am-1:00 pm. The half-day event will feature government officials and legislators from South America discussing national-level reforms, as well as experts addressing cross-cutting themes such as harm reduction strategies, the role of law enforcement, human rights, and cannabis policy.

Recent years have seen a growing unwillingness among increasing numbers of States parties to fully adhere to a strictly prohibitionist reading of the UN drug control conventions. Such behaviour has been driven by a belief that non-punitive and pragmatic health oriented domestic policy approaches…

In a world-first, researchers from the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre are leading a study to determine whether the pharmaceutical drug Sativex can help people better manage cannabis withdrawal symptoms as a platform for ongoing abstinence.

The legal status of cannabis for personal use is one of the most controversial policy issues in the European Union. Although cannabis is a classified narcotic drug placed under control by the United Nations and by all EU Member States, the measures adopted to control it at national level vary…

This paper summarises data for the prevalence, correlates, and probable adverse health consequences of problem use of amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, and opioids. We discuss findings from systematic reviews of the prevalence of illicit drug use and dependence, remission from dependence, and…

When medical marijuana dispensaries close, crime rises in the surrounding neighborhood when compared to areas where dispensaries are allowed to remain open, according to a new RAND Corporation study. The findings challenge the common wisdom that marijuana dispensaries promote criminal activity.

This is a comprehensive assessment of the threat posed to the United States by the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. It was prepared through detailed analysis of the most recent law enforcement, intelligence, and public health data available to the National Drug Intelligence Center through…

This report on cannabis legalisation was produced by a working group of the French National Assembly presided by Daniel Vaillant, former Minister of Home Affairs. The report (available below, in French) calls for the controlled legalisation of cannabis in France in order to better control the…

Over 50 policy makers, practitioners, academics, and representatives from NGOs and governmental organisations attended the meeting, to discuss the Portuguese decriminalisation model, cannabis policy reform, and the agenda and global initiatives at the 54th Session of the Commission on Narcotic…

This update of t he Afghanistan Cannabis Survey 2009 confirms Afghanistan's role as a major grower of cannabis, but also discovers that the country produces more cannabis resin or hashish than any other nation.